http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=133
No homework for students. What an interesting concept. What a well written post as well. I enjoyed reading this blog post–the author incorporated his ideas with support from his experiences as well as research. As for the idea, I think there is some validity to the posting. During my second year of teaching, we had classes that were 75 minutes long. The first 30 -40 minutes of class was dedicated to covering concepts and curriculum. The last 30-45 minutes was for classwork and homework. Students responded very well to the assignments and tended to retain the information covered in class more frequently than when they just had homework.
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My thoughts on Web 2.0–hmmm…to be honest I had never really thought alot about it until recently. I have been aware of the concepts behind Web 2.0 for awhile; it seemed to me a natural progression for the evolution of the internet and technology. Since technology truly connects and impacts our culture, I feel that education will need to adapt to authentically engage today’s student. The kids we teach today typically are inundated with types of technology and multimedia. I don’t know very many students that don’t have personal computers, Ipods, cell phones, etc. I think as educators we need to reach out to our students by connecting with them by using this technology. For example, as I’m typing this post, I’m also listening to a lesson in Spanish on my Ipod. (Multi-tasking!) Along with the podcasts are interactive online lessons. As educators, we have the opportunity to use this technology to provide new and engaging lessons. An example might be a mini-lesson in video format posted on a blog or homework site along with an online test. Students could listen to the lesson and answer the questions and email or post back to the teacher. This would be useful when information needs to be covered, but we don’t have enough class time due to modified schedules or special events.
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Lifelong learning…didn’t we once think we wouldn’t have to learn anything once we graduated? I realize now (after reflecting on the 7 1/2 Habits) that there are areas in my own life-long-learning-attitude that need some work and areas that need some tweaking. One of the most challenging areas deal with goal-setting. Since I am typically a very sit-back-and-relax-and-see-what-happens kind of learner, trying to begin something with the end in mind is something that will challenge me. Many times, when I look at the end, I become so focused on one part of the goal, I lose out on the tangential pockets of knowledge, understanding, and experiences that are involved in accomplishing the total goal. The irony is that is that I also get carried away with the tangential (or the play) part of learning and I somewhat forget about finishing the goal. So, I think that I need to focus on balancing the play with my goals so as to achieve being able to use the existing and new technologies to mentor and teach my students.
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